I’d always wanted a flight out of the new midfield terminal since I first saw the signage last November, so with some airport time alone I decided, finally, to check it out. For those who aren’t familiar, not long ago Hong Kong Airport opened a long-overdue project, the Midfield Terminal, which opened up more slots to Hong Kong Airlines and smaller aircraft. I was first intrigued by the terminal when I saw a Cathay Pacific A330 parked by the gate last January, so decided to pay it a visit.

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport Exterior

The midfield terminal is two stops away from gates 1-36 on the Automated People Mover (whoever came up with that name, I’ve been wondering for the past few years), in conjunction with the far end of the terminal. Getting there is pretty easy, and if you’re just there for one of the features that the terminal offers (more on that later), the APM goes back to gates 40-80 – if you’re at gates 1-30, tough luck, expect 15 minutes’ walking time to get back to your gate.

With that in mind, I headed up the terminal at about 10 AM.

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport Entrance

You have to go through a huge set of escalators, which takes about five minutes to get past. The airport reminded me of Beijing Capital Airport.

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport Entrance

The terminal is actually as stunning, if not more, than the pictures. There’s a small duty-free area at the top of the escalators.

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport Entrance Duty-Free

The terminal is airy, ambient and features a ton of natural light, much like the actual Terminal 1.

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport

I mean, the terminal is just so airy, nice and modern. While I like the main terminal, the design of this place just seemed to be so much more futuristic. On the signage I saw a place called a “viewing deck”. I started walking towards the one at gate 230, then realised it was closed, so I made the haul back to gate 220 to use that viewing deck instead.

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport

As I walked through the terminal, I realised the terminal was more for most Hong Kong Airlines and Hong Kong Express departures, as well as some smaller airlines, most of which I hadn’t heard of.

Cebu Pacific Airbus A320 Hong Kong Airport

There aren’t that many shops given the limited footprint at the terminal, but what there is includes a Pacific Coffee, which doesn’t seem to get much revenue. I didn’t buy anything, but asked where the observation deck was there – they pointed me towards the closed one, which I can’t really blame them for. The terminal isn’t big, but it’s aesthetically stunning.

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport Pacific Coffee

Realising it was closed I made the haul to the other side. The terminal

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport

Midfield Terminal Hong Kong Airport

Eventually I made it to the observation deck. While it was full of smoke, it faced the runway directly. I’m not sure how many of these are around in Hong Kong, but given how close the terminal is to the runway you really can’t get a better location. While the lighting wasn’t great, the actual views were more than amazing.

Cathay Pacific Airbus A330-300 Hong Kong Airport

Cathay Pacific Boeing 777-300ER Hong Kong Airport

Cebu Pacific Airbus A320 Hong Kong Airport

The lighting wasn’t great for aircraft taking off, but was perfect for taxiing aircraft. Too bad there weren’t any actual heavies passing us at that point of the day.

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Published by Alvin

I'm a 17-year-old student who flies and reviews around 10-20 flights per year. When I’m not writing up blog posts or cranking away at schoolwork, I’m a worship band pianist and an amateur cook. My goal is to make people happy so I’d love to do so by maximising your travel experience and helping you make your optimal travel decisions.
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